Marketing Mix: Promotion Strategies Assume That You

¶ … Marketing Mix: Promotion Strategies

Assume that you are the newly hired promotion manager for Brooks Brothers and that the VP of Marketing wants you to prepare a report on how the designer's/brand's product/good is currently marketed and to begin to think about what changes, if any, you might want to see made in the promotion of that designer's/brand's products/goods.

What promotion makes the designer's/brand's products different from its competitors?

Brooks Brothers is one of the most famous marketers of classic clothing for men and women in the world. Its generations-old name and reputation for quality distinguishes it from its more recently-arrived competitors. Unlike the classic British fashion house Burberry, it has not tried to brand itself as a more trendy fashion line for the young, and showcased streaming podcasts of its fashion shows and crowd-sourced photographs and fashion advice. Brooks Brothers specializes in simple, clean lines and its current marketing mix is fairly straightforward. It offers preppy dress and casual clothing for men, women, and children. Its prices are slightly cheaper than Burberry's, but still somewhat pricey for 'off the racks' fashion. Its main competitors are Ralph Lauren, J. Crew and Banana Republic for casual clothes and for higher-end clothing, classic designer labels such as Burberry and Armani.

In 2001, the stalwart, nearly 200-year-old American company "which has outfitted powerful and famous men from Clark Gable to John Kennedy" was acquired by Italian entrepreneur Claudio Del Vecchio (Spiffing up Brooks Brothers, 2001, Business Week). Del Vecchio believed that "Brooks Brothers forgot about the suit guy -- the one they dress five days a week" and tried to shift the brand's focus back to that of the high-end consumer (Spiffing up Brooks Brothers, 2001, Business Week). High end consumers tend to be less 'hard hit' by economic trends, given that they have larger disposable incomes, more savings, and are less dependent upon a paycheck for their necessary expenses. However Brooks Brothers' new owner could not ignore the trend toward wearing casual wear and 'dress down Fridays' which had penetrated even investment banks and law firms (Spiffing up Brooks Brothers, 2001, Business Week).

"The retailer must draw new and younger customers into its 160 U.S. shops with relaxed clothing that is fresh but doesn't clash with its traditional image. Managers at Retail Brand Alliance, Del Vecchio's Enfield, Connecticut, holding company, say a new line of sports coats made from lighter fabrics and an all-cotton, no-wrinkle shirt are a good start. Brooks Brothers is about style, not fashion. It's about always looking right in classic garments instead of boring" (Spiffing up Brooks Brothers, 2001, Business Week). As well as to cultivate a more casual image, Brooks Brothers must draw in new consumers, while still holding on to its core clientele and not alienating them.

In terms of product/good marketing, how would you change the promotion mix?

Word of mouth and reputation, catalog, and in-store sales along with Internet advertising are the primary sources of promotion. Brooks Brothers has a Facebook page which features contests such as 'Dandiest at the Derby.' Facebook friends could submit photographs of attendees at the Kentucky Derby. The Facebook page also contains articles about whether it is politic at the office to out-dress one's boss. These articles serve the classic image of Brooks Brothers and strive to generate discussion and positive buzz about Brooks Brothers' style. As well as clothing-specific updates, the page strives to create an interest in the lifestyle and image of Brooks Brothers.

However, for Brooks Brothers to survive into the millennium, it must reconfigure its image. It once was a purveyor of men's clothing largely worn in the office. Now it is clothing women and children, and embracing aspects of 'down-market' casual wear. Instead of stressing the preppy stylishness with reference to the Kentucky Derby, it should instead adopt a more populist mix. Asking Facebook readers to submit personal photographs wearing Brooks Brothers casually, for example, would be a more responsive form of social marketing. While some of the core Brooks Brothers demographic might be able to attend the Kentucky Derby, they are unlikely to be part of the clothing brand's Facebook audience. Instead, Brooks Brothers should use Facebook, Twitter, and the Internet to differentiate its marketing mix and focus upon the younger consumer. For example, "Burberry introduced a social networking site, artofthetrench.com, to encourage people to share their own trench coat stories…the latest step…to build on the brand's British heritage and trademark plaid with a more modern twist" (Werdigier 2009).

Photography defines a large portion of Brooks Brother's advertising and marketing. Online it even features photographs from its 'real world' catalogue, and its ads are featured in Vogue and other major fashion publications. Photographs stress the classic appeal of its dress and casual clothing. However, in contrast to the past when celebrities such as John F. Kennedy and Clark Gable were known to have worn Broths Brothers, the retailer currently does not have a single spokesperson who embodies its image in the new world of online marketing.

In terms of product/good marketing, how would you change the advertising mix?